Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Life On Mars, and other dreamy situations.

I watched, and thoroughly enjoyed, the American premier of Life On Mars last night. Aside from starring "Jip" -- which in my book is always a plus since I particularly enjoy John Simm's acting -- it benefits from being based on a strong story conceit. Never mind that the basic premise could have been lifted directly from Abre Los Ojos (or, even more specifically, from Frederic Brown'sWhat Mad Universe), the execution kept the plot speeding along with me firmly clutched within its grasp.

Plus I am a sucker for anything even tangentially connected to Bowie, so there's that.

So what am I going to do tonight? Oh, I have an idea! Maybe I'll DJ at The Pontiac! And maybe I'll invite my good friend Mark Ruggiero -- a.k.a. singer/hack guitarist for local faves Farewell Captain -- to DJ with me! And, hbow about I spice things up even more and invite the brains behind DoneWaiting to stop by and grace the proceedings with his presence! Yes, folks, it's true; Rob Duffy is in town! Had I thought ahead I would have tried to get him to spin too, but that would entail pouring a gallon of bourbon down his gullet and I don't think his lovely girlfriend would appreciate us doing that.

I'll be spinning a bunch of new stuff (as usual) so prick up your ears and snag ahold of these trends before the kids stomp 'em into the ground. One disc I'll be playing something off of is the forthcoming sophomore effort from Juliana Hatfield's side project Some Girls. Overall the disc is pretty drab, filled with unassuming folksy rock-type stuff. If you['re a fan of Hatfield you'll like the disc, although I'm a bit let down since I've grown especially fond of the snarling guitar mangler she's been over her last few solo efforts. Oh well.

One track that does sort of stand out on the disc is "He's On Drugs Again." I'm not even going to try and surmise who/what the tune is about but I will say this ... it's the best song Veruca Salt hasn't written in the last ten years.* Download it, listen, and see if you don't just agree with me.